Official: Zlatan Ibrahimović Thread II

If Ibra comes back top 4 is guaranteed

necromancer said:

He won’t play all games for sure. The primary benefit is his presence in the dressing room. Let’s hope that translates to a few extra points.

Maldini is following the Galliani copybook exactly to the last detail.

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I don't see what positive dressing room presence he would bring.
If he's not setting an example on the pitch, then he's more likely to become dressing room poison.

Ibra's not some wise and mature team-first guy with a lot of things to teach the rest.
He has a history of picking fights with teammates for the stupidest reasons, intimidating younger players(not in a good way, they underperform when he's around), undermining or trying to undermine the coach, whining and blaming his teammates when things go wrong or not as he wanted it to, adding fuel when there's a fire.

The Sweden NT was much pretty much revived from death when he retired. Never had the team morale been as low as when the federation bended over for him 2009-2016. Even now he's trying to destabilize the team from the outside.

The 2012-13 Milan team wasn't missing Ibra's locker room presence. On the contrary, that mediocre squad was overperforming partly due to the squad harmony. What they were missing was him as dependable goal scorer, him as targetman, his hold-up play, the chances he was creating for Noce and KPB - not his shouting, whining, sulking and beefing with his own teammates and coach.

Goodfella said:

I don't see what positive dressing room presence he would bring.
If he's not setting an example on the pitch, then he's more likely to become dressing room poison.

Ibra's not some wise and mature team-first guy with a lot of things to teach the rest.
He has a history of picking fights with teammates for the stupidest reasons, intimidating younger players(not in a good way, they underperform when he's around), undermining or trying to undermine the coach, whining and blaming his teammates when things go wrong or not as he wanted it to, adding fuel when there's a fire.

The Sweden NT was much pretty much revived from death when he retired. Never had the team morale been as low as when the federation bended over for him 2009-2016. Even now he's trying to destabilize the team from the outside.

The 2012-13 Milan team wasn't missing Ibra's locker room presence. On the contrary, that mediocre squad was overperforming partly due to the squad harmony. What they were missing was him as dependable goal scorer, him as targetman, his hold-up play, the chances he was creating for Noce and KPB - not his shouting, whining, sulking and beefing with his own teammates and coach.

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Of course.. Ibra has never in his career been known for having a mature head, never has he been characterized as a stable locker room presence.

But this is what happens these days when a player is old - he's always assumed to be sane and the voice of reason.

Thats not the point of Ibra. The point is that u dont get away with half assed football when Ibra is around. And we have a team full of half assed players.

He'll call players out who arent giving their all in training. He will score goals, not as many as he used to, but he will score.

Our team's mental weakness and our inability to score goals has been our biggest weakness, and Zlatan should help with both.

calling out will make them even more mentally fragile. we need someone who can remove that burden.

For Zlatan, I think the best story could actually be a Napoli move, in case they qualify to the CL knockouts. He has a great team there already and a late burst with some highlight reel moments from Zlatan could see them finishing 3rd and go deep into the CL.

you saw all that backtracking, implementing pressure and helping the defence yesterday with Piatek?

yeah, that's not gonna happen with grandpa here. at best he will karate chop the defenders of the opposing team.

and if you wanna splash 10m a year for a locker room cheerleader- glad you're not Milan's SD.

Ibra can still do a 'R9 vs Messina 2007' and you ppl know it.

necromancer said:

For Zlatan, I think the best story could actually be a Napoli move, in case they qualify to the CL knockouts. He has a great team there already and a late burst with some highlight reel moments from Zlatan could see them finishing 3rd and go deep into the CL.

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It could also be the final nail in the coffin for Napoli, if they bend over for Ibra tactically.
They are already dangerously close to becoming like late Berlu era Milan.

From one of the most enviable teams, in terms of tactical style, squad quality and performances compared with revenue - to this...

What a HORRIBLE decision hiring Carlo turned out to be.
And they pay him 6.5m net a year...

Goodfella said:

It could also be the final nail in the coffin for Napoli, if they bend over for Ibra tactically.
They are already dangerously close to becoming like late Berlu era Milan.

From one of the most enviable teams, in terms of tactical style, squad quality and performances compared with revenue - to this...

What a HORRIBLE decision hiring Carlo turned out to be.
And they pay him 6.5m net a year...

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It was never going to be a good match - Carlo and AdL. Coupled with captain Insigne's hesitant, two-minded outlook of the club and the project, it was a disaster waiting to happen.

AdL wants to be the new Berlusconi. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize that those times have gone by and players don't react positively to that style of ownership anymore.

Ancelotti did quite well last season in transitioning the team from Sarri, in dealing with a post-Hamsik midfield, and in bringing through guys like Fabian, but this season he never really got going.

I don’t fully agree that Ibra is not a leader and brings a bad presence.

He’s had his moments, but the mark of Ibra to me has been consistency. Forget his CL struggles and the tactical detriment he brings there, domestically(where consistency is key) he has excelled everywhere. And while he did play for some great teams, I’m not sure you can excel across that many teams and leagues without learning a thing or two. Manchester United fans and Mourinho are still very fond of his presence and leadership, and there was an immediate drop off after he left. That team, just lack Milan, lacks leadership and consistency, not enough veterans to lead the way of a young team. Sounds a lot like us.

Of course I’ll admit I don’t know how he will act to not playing every game, I can’t act like I know that and that worries me. But anyone who’s played competitively will know what I’m talking about when the team suffers a setback and they need to look to a mainstay in the team to calm things down. How many times has Milan played well for 70 minutes only to implode? Last game for example. Imagine the difference a young team would have knowing a veteran centerback who can make a big tackle, or having a reliable striker to slow the game down and bring the momentum away from the other team. That kind of experience is crucial. Here in the states Ibra played on a bit very good Galaxy team, but he propelled them to be competitive by backing himself up. He talked mad shit to their rivals in LA, and scored a hat trick in the game to beat them. If you guys think that doesn’t inspire a team then you’re clueless about sports in general. I think Ibra has been that, and it’s hard not to call him a leader.

I guess what I’m trying to say is the notion that “Ibra has never been a veteran/leadership/locker room presence” is flat out wrong. I WILL say he’s made his mistakes and I’m not sure at his current ability if he can still be that presence. I agree that he could come here, not be good enough to start every game, and stir something up. But if Ibra comes and scores a couple goals, the team will breathe and I think the team will look up to him. And the management is probably banking on that as well

Balo45 said:

I don’t fully agree that Ibra is not a leader and brings a bad presence.

He’s had his moments, but the mark of Ibra to me has been consistency. Forget his CL struggles and the tactical detriment he brings there, domestically(where consistency is key) he has excelled everywhere. And while he did play for some great teams, I’m not sure you can excel across that many teams and leagues without learning a thing or two. Manchester United fans and Mourinho are still very fond of his presence and leadership, and there was an immediate drop off after he left. That team, just lack Milan, lacks leadership and consistency, not enough veterans to lead the way of a young team. Sounds a lot like us.

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There were immediate improvements after his injury.
Why? Why was that young team improving after losing Ibra not only on the pitch but also in the locker room and training ground?

The immediate drop was in Mou's 3rd season. Not the first time that happens.

With that said, Ibra, as a locker room and training ground character, may have had some value to Mou, who probably felt he needed former players from outside Manure which he could trust. But with Pioli it's entirely different. Ibra is not a former player of his. He also doesn't have a history of causing drama and losing the dressing room like Mou.

Balo45 said:

How many times has Milan played well for 70 minutes only to implode?

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Implode? Milan aren't losing or failing to win games by imploding at the end.
Milan lose because the team can't score in those 70 minutes. Then they get tired and concede from a counterattack after yet another fruitless attempt to score.

Do you know how many games Pioli's Milan has lost where they were in the lead at some point? Zero.

The draw against Lecce is the only time the team lost a lead. No implosion there either, since the team managed to come back from Lecce's first equalizer by taking the lead again in the 81st minute. Lecce got their 2nd equalizer in the final minutes against a very unbalanced team with barely any midfielder.

Ibra could help fix this problem, not in the locker-room but on the pitch by finishing off the chances the team creates when playing well.

His lack of movement and defensive work would create other problems though.

Blegh. I'll pass.

In Ancelotti book, he stated that in 2006 Ibrahimovic was supposed to join Milan from Juventus but he was impatient to wait for Milan to be declared clear from the caliopoli incident and in the end he joined Inter instead. If he is looking to win the Champion League Milan could serve it on a platter to him in the coming season.

mALDINI03 said:

In Ancelotti book, he stated that in 2006 Ibrahimovic was supposed to join Milan from Juventus but he was impatient to wait for Milan to be declared clear from the caliopoli incident and in the end he joined Inter instead. If he is looking to win the Champion League Milan could serve it on a platter to him in the coming season.

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If Ibra was a starter then the club wouldnt have won a 7th CL title that year.

Pay the man his worth already. We are not going to get two good wingers in the winter market, so the only real option to save the season is Zlatan.

I love him both as a player and as a person, but he really needs to stop acting prestigious. He may give us a hand until the end of the season, but there's better options in the transfer market.

Zlatan is 38, has only interest from Milan, Bologna and Napoli, yet he's taking his time with his decision like Real Madrid and Barcelona are his suitors.

The guy asks for a lot of money, that probably only Milan would offer. Are there any clubs that would match the amount that we're offering? He's ignorant to the point of insanity if he thinks Bologna or Napoli with their stingy owner will offer more.

I don't know if it's right to judge him based on what media is reporting. We have no idea what is really going on there

fray said:

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The guy asks for a lot of money, that probably only Milan would offer. Are there any clubs that would match the amount that we're offering? He's ignorant to the point of insanity if he thinks Bologna or Napoli with their stingy owner will offer more.

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Eh.. there's a good chance other clubs are offering more, particularly Napoli. They have much less constraints than Milan has in their wage bill at the moment.

Moreover, he would easily get much better offers from outside the big leagues - China/ME etc.

Ronin said:

I don't know if it's right to judge him based on what media is reporting. We have no idea what is really going on there

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Di Marzio has been reporting it, a companion of Mino Raiola. Every major media outlet, too.

necromancer said:

Eh.. there's a good chance other clubs are offering more, particularly Napoli. They have much less constraints than Milan has in their wage bill at the moment.

Moreover, he would easily get much better offers from outside the big leagues - China/ME etc.

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I really don't think Napoli can offer what we can. If Zlatan thinks he can get a better contract at any club in Serie A than Milan, he's chasing rainbows. Additionally, Napoli already got a pretty-much stacked attack.

China or Middle East aren't places that I see Zlatan plying his trade, even at this point in his career. I see Zlatan as that type of person who wants to retire at the top, ergo, a Serie A move makes sense.

However, the latest suggestion is Everton, now that they have appointed Carlo - an option I definitely won't count out.

fray said:

However, the latest suggestion is Everton, now that they have appointed Carlo - an option I definitely won't count out.

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Ibra is a narcissist above all, he will not go to a club which cannot potentially perform on the highest level (that's why china or another project is out of the question).

as well, he wants to develop his brand and Milan is a good destination for that, a city& team with allot of exposure, unlike Napoli which despite all their relative success compared to us during the past couple of years are light years behind brand recognition wise. that's also why he went to the MLS despite having enough suitors at top flight football.

and the story of coming back to a club and elevating it to where it once used to be will serve to Ibra's personality image in football down the line.

Time to move this thread back to players

Welcome back Zlatan

Elated he's coming back.

Welcome back Grande champion IBRA!!

Welcome back

Kick some ass god dammit

Welcome Ibra. Please prove all the non-believers wrong!

ffs grow this Milan a cock and balls. Welcome back Ibra!

10 goals at least till the end of the season.